The newly-elected school board has an important decision to make
immediately upon taking the oath Dec. 14.
The newly-elected school board has an important decision to make immediately upon taking the oath Dec. 14.
They need to fill the seat of Julia Hover-Smoot, who won the county race to represent Area 7 on the County Board of Education despite bowing out and throwing her support behind one of her opponents.
Their options include:
n Appointing the next highest vote getter, which would be Bart Fisher, who came in fifth behind Ron Woolf (7,890 votes, 17.4 percent), Claudia Rossi (7,461 votes, 16.4 percent), Shelle Thomas (6,471 votes, 14.2 percent) and Don Moody (6,285 votes, 13.8 percent). Fisher garnered 4,350 votes, 9.6 percent.
n Taking applications from any interested member of the community, conducting interviews then appointing the top choice.
n Calling for a special election.
The best method of finding the ideal candidate is to take applications from any and all interested parties.
To appoint the fifth-place candidate, one whom 9 out of 10 voters rejected, is not the way to garner public support, especially at a time when the district has gained some positive momentum.
Calling a special election is costly.
On Dec. 14, the board should direct staff to make the public aware the opportunity exists to apply for the seat and ask all those interested to submit an application. Then board members should interview all candidates in a public meeting before selecting the best candidate.
“It’s important with the new board there’s some sense of compatibility in working with someone, and really important the public be involved and have opportunity to come forward,” Thomas told reporter Lindsay Bryant.
We agree. Keeping the process as transparent as possible will ensure trust between the district and the community.
